Automatic lighting system for doorways.



s. B. KOHLER.

AUTOMATIC LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR DOORWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, IBM.

1,243,530. Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- G. B. KOHLER.

AUTOMATIC LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR DOORWAYS.

APPLlCATION FILED NOV. 23. 19I4.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

and illustrating more clearly UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. KOHL'ER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE J. G. BRILL COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR DOORWAYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

Application filed November 23, 1914. Serial No. 873,611.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. KoHLnR, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Automatic Lighting Systems for Doorways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the means for illuminating the doorways of a passenger car, particularly the'type used in city and suburban traflic.

' One object of my invention-is to automatically illuminate the passageways when the doors are opened by the conductor and to automatically extinguish the lights when the doors are closed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a signal light at the motormans station, which will also be automatically operated, so that he'will know positively when the doors are closed, in order that he will not start the car until said doors are closed, thus avoiding unnecessary accidents. I

The invention is particularly adapted for use in cars where the doors are opened and closed by the conductor; the doors being located some distance from the motormans station. In some types of cars, the entrance doors are at the rear of the cars and the exit doors are at the forward ends. In other types of cars the entrance and exit doors are at the rear of the cars, and in other types of cars the entrance and exit doors are at the center of the cars. The invention can be applied to anyone of these types of cars.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1, is a sectional elevation through the platform at the rear end of a passenger car, showing one of the doors in the open position and the lamp above the door llluminating the passageway;

Fig. 2, is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, the electrical contacts Fig. 3, is a diagrammatic plan view, showing the wiring of the car;

Fig. 4, is a diagrammatic view showing one of the rear doors open and the lamp above this door illuminated so as to light the passageway, and the rear signal light nated.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the body of the car. 2 and 3 are the doors at the rear end of the car. at and 5 are the doors at the forward end of the car on the side opposite to the doors 2 and 8. In the present instance, there is a sliding door 6 at the forward end of the car which is opened and closed by the motorman. 7 is a sliding door at the rear of the car on the side opposite to that of the door 6, which can be opened and closed by the motorman when the car is moving in the opposite direction to that indicated by the arrow, Fig. 4.

Referring to Fig. 1, 8 is the platform of the car. 9 is the side of the platform in which are two doorways, in the present in-' stance. 10 is the roof, which extends over the platform, and 11 is the bulkhead or partition between the body of the car and the platform. 12 is a step pivoted at 13 and this step may be made in two sections, one section being directly below one door and the other section being directly below the other door, or it may be made in one section eX- tending under both doors in the present instance. These doors are pivoted so as to swing to the open or the closed position.

As hereinbefore stated, this invention relates to the mechanism for illuminating the passageways and signaling to the motorman.

On the bulkhead 11, in the present instance, is a bearing 14 in which is a spindle 15 carrying two operating levers 16 and 17. These levers are connected respectively, to rods 18 and 19 which,in turn, are connected to arms 20 and 21,1ocated under the platform 8. The arm 20 forms one end of a three-armed lever 22 and the arm 21 is mounted on a rod 23. The lever 22 is connected to one door and step section and the rod 23 is connected to the other door and step section, and this construction is clearly illustrated and described in a pending application for patent filed by me on the 26th day of October 1914-, under Serial No. 868,766, therefore, I lay no claim to this particular arrangement in this application.

On the lever 22 is an arm which is connected by a rod 24 to an arm 25 on the pivot 26 of one section of the door 3, and on this lever is another arm which is connected by a rod 27 to the step 12 so that, when the handle 16 is turned to the position illustrated in Fig. 1, the door 3 is opened and the step 12 is lowered. When the handle 17 is turned up then the door 2 is opened and its step is lowered, and when both handles are down both doors are in the closed position and the steps are raised. 7 v

28 is a lamp located over the doorway closed by the doors 3. 29 is a lamp located over the doorway closed by the doors 2. 30 is a lamp over the doorway closed by the doors Band 31 is a lamp over the doorway closed by the doors 4. 32 is a signal lamp at the motormanis station, which is worked in connection with the lamps '28 and 29 over the doors 3 and 2, and 33 is a signal'lamp at the motorinans other station, which isworked in connection with the lamps 30 and 31. 34 is a block having contact fingers 35, 36 and 37, and 38 is a block having contact fingers 39, 40 and 41. On the rod 18 is a blade 42, which is arranged to pass between the fingers35 and 36 or 39 and 40, according to the location ofthe rod 18. In the present instance, this blade is located between the fingers 35 and 36 of the block 34 and, as this rod is conected to the doors 3, the circuit is closed and the lamp 28 is illuminated and the signal light 32, at the motormans station at the forward end of the car, is cut out.

In Fig. 2, the blade 43 on the arm 19 is shown located between the fingers 40 and 41, so that the lamp 29 above the doors 2 is not illuminated and the signal light '32 at the forward end of the car is not illuminated, although the blade 43 is in position between the fingers on the block 38, but, owing to the layout of the wiring, this signal light 32 will not be illuminated until also the blade 42 is located between the fingers 39 and 40, when the circuit will be complete and the lamp will be illuminated, but, on moving the blade 42 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position in contact with the fingers 39 and 40, the door is moved to the closed position and the step is raised, cutting out the light 28, The wiring is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 and need not be further described.

The same arrangement of the fingered blocks and blades is used in connection with the mechanism for controlling the doors 4 and 5 and for illuminating the lamps 30, 31 and 33, therefore, when the two signal lamps 32 and 33 are lighted it indicates that both sets of doors 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 are closed.

When the car is running in the direction of the arrow, Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and the doors are closed, the lamp at the forward end of the car will be illuminated, since itindicates at once that both of the doors 2 or 3 are closed, but, when the car is brought to a standstill and either of the doors 2 or 3 is opened, the signal light 32 will be extinguished and the respective lamps at the doors 2 and 3 will be illuminated and the motorman, under the rules of the company, will not start the car until the signal lamp 32 is illuminated, so there is no danger of the car being started while a passenger is alighting or boarding the car, thus avoiding accidents.

It impossible, in the type of ear above alluded to, to see the doors from the motormans station and if it were not for the sig nal lamp he would hare todepend upon the .conductors signal.

I have illustrated and described my invention in which the electric circuit is such that the signal lamp 32 is illuminated when the do rs areclosed and extinguished when the doors are opened, but it will be understood that the circuit may be otherwise arranged without departing fromthe essential features of the invention.

In some instances, I may provide switches, as at 43 and 44 in the circuits of the lamps 32 and 33 respectively so that the lamps may be disconnected when desired.

The arrangement of the mechanism will depend largely upon the particular 001 struction of'the ear.

In the specification, door and this term mean either a door having a single Section or a door having two sections, as illustrated in the drawings, or one having more than two sections, without departing from the essential features of the invention.

I claim 1. The combination of a door; means for actuating the door, said means consisti of a lei er and a connecting rod; mechanism between the rod and the door; a lamp at the door; a signal lamp at the motormans statron; mechanism carried by the rod; and an electric circuit between said mechanism and the lamp at the door and the lamp at the motormans station arranged so that either the lamp at the door or the lamp at the motormans station can be placed in circuit.

2. The combination of a-door; means for actuating the door, said means consisting of I have used the will be understood to a lever and connecting rod and mechanism when the rod is raised and the door is In testimony whereof, I have signed my closed, the blade will come in contact With name to this specification, in the presence of the fingers of the upper block; a lamp at two subscribing witnesses.

the door in circuit with the fingers of the GEORGE B. KOHLER. 5 lower block; and a signal lamp at the motor- WVitnesses:

lnans station in circuit with the fingers of HENRY O. EsLING,

the upper block. S. H. MCKILLIP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

